Monday 25 June 2012 09.52 EDT
First published on Monday 25 June 2012 09.52 EDT

NatWest and RBS customers are already believed to be looking for alternative current account providers following the RBS Group's computer systems failure, which has caused huge disruption to normal banking services.

Comparison website Moneynet.co.uk has reported a 10% jump in the number of visitors to its current account pages over the past seven days compared with levels seen during the the rest of 2012.

Spokesman Andrew Hagger said: "It looks as if the NatWest problems could be good news for its competitors. Usually customers are apathetic when it comes to switching to a new bank, but it's no surprise that those suffering major inconvenience are starting to consider their options."

Although other websites say traffic has been steady, they say this is probably because NatWest and RBS customers erroneously believe they cannot start switching accounts until the IT problems which have prevented the updating of their account balances, transactions and withdrawal of cash have been solved.

Nationwide building society said an increase in applications from NatWest and RBS customers by the end of the week was likely, but added it had experienced no problems with switching accounts from NatWest and RBS since 19 June when the problems began. In the 2011/12 financial year, 19% of new Nationwidecurrent account customers switched from Santander, 16% from Lloyds, 14% from Barclays, 13% from HSBC, 12% from NatWest and 11% from Halifax.

One posting under the name of chingwu said: "Seriously considering moving my account to the co-op. Refusing my wife's card, yet oddly all direct debit's went out as normal. Not a happy bunny!"

Another called Zackjones said: "Anyone who continues to bank with NatWest after this is a fool."

Hagger suggests a number of different current accounts for customers with different banking habits. For those who always keep their accounts in credit he recommends the Halifax Reward Current account, which pays the customer £5 each month as long as he or she credits the account with £1,000 a month. However, this account should be avoided by those who sometimes go overdrawn as the charges are very high.

He added: "Take a look at the 123 Current Account from Santander which pays interest on credit balances over £1,000, plus you get cashback on household bills paid by direct debit."

If you often go overdrawn you could consider First Direct where the first £250 is interest free and it charges a competitive 15.9% above that. You must put at least £1,500 a month into this account. First Direct is also likely to appeal to those whose priority is now excellent customer service: the bank won the 2012 Which? award for Best Financial Services Provider for its consistently high levels of customer satisfaction, good products and services, as well as clear information for customers.

Nationwide's FlexAccount also has a lower than average overdraft rate of 18.9% plus free European travel insurance and good loyalty deals for current account customers.

For those wanting a debit card that incurs low charges when used abroad, Hagger suggests the Gold current account from Norwich & Peterborough building society or Metro Bank's standard current account: neither levy charges on foreign transactions.